New York City’s universal prekindergarten (pre-K) program, which increased full-day enrollment from 19,000 to almost 70,000 children, is ambitious in both scale and implementation speed. We provide new evidence on the distribution of pre-K quality in New York City by student race/ethnicity, and investigate the extent to which observed differences are associated with the spatial distribution of higher quality providers. Relative to other jurisdictions, we find the average quality of public pre-K providers is high. However, we identify large disparities in the average quality of providers experienced by Black and White students, which is partially explained by differential proximity to higher quality providers. Taken together, current racial disparities in the quality of pre-K providers may limit the program’s ability to reduce racial achievement gaps.
AraujoM. C.CarneiroP.Cruz-AguayoY.SchadyN. (2016). Teacher quality and learning outcomes in kindergarten. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 131(3), 1415–1453. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjw016
2.
BassokD.GaldoE. (2016). Inequality in preschool quality? Community-level disparities in access to high-quality learning environments. Early Education and Development, 27(1), 128–144. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2015.1057463
3.
BassokD.MarkowitzA. J.PlayerD.ZagardoM. (2018). Are parents’ ratings and satisfaction with preschools related to program features?AERA Open, 4(1), 2332858418759954. https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858418759954
4.
BrunsekA.PerlmanM.FalenchukO.McMullenE.FletcherB.ShahP. S. (2017). The relationship between the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale and its revised form and child outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLOS ONE, 12(6), Article e0178512. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0178512
5.
CampbellF. A.PungelloE. P.BurchinalM.KainzK.PanY.WasikB. H.BarbarinO. A.SparlingJ. J.RameyC. T. (2012). Adult outcomes as a function of an early childhood educational program: An Abecedarian Project follow-up. Developmental Psychology, 48(4), 1033–1043. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026644
DemingD. (2009). Early childhood intervention and life-cycle skill development: Evidence from Head Start. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 1(3), 111–134. https://doi.org/10.1257/app.1.3.111
8.
EarlyD. M.BryantD. M.PiantaR. C.CliffordR. M.BurchinalM. R.RitchieS.HowesC.BarbarinO. (2006). Are teachers’ education, major, and credentials related to classroom quality and children’s academic gains in pre-kindergarten?Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 21(2), 174–195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2006.04.004
9.
EarlyD. M.IrukaI. U.RitchieS.BarbarinO. A.WinnD.-M. C.CrawfordG. M.FromeP. M.CliffordR. M.BurchinalM.HowesC.BryantD. M.PiantaR. C. (2010). How do pre-kindergarteners spend their time? Gender, ethnicity, and income as predictors of experiences in pre-kindergarten classrooms. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 25(2), 177–193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2009.10.003
10.
FrankenbergE. (2016). Segregation at an early age. Center for Education and Civil Rights.
11.
Friedman-KraussA.BarnettW. S.WeisenfeldG. G.KasminR.DiCrecchioN.HorowitzM. (2018). The state of preschool 2017: State preschool yearbook. National Institute for Early Education Research.
Gomez-VelezN. (2015). Can universal pre-K overcome extreme race and income segregation to reach New York’s neediest children: The importance of legal infrastructure and limits of the law. Cleveland State Law Review, 63(2), 319–354.
14.
GordonR. A.HoferK. G.FujimotoK. A.RiskN.KaestnerR.KorenmanS. (2015). Identifying high-quality preschool programs: New evidence on the validity of the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale–Revised (ECERS–R) in relation to school readiness goals. Early Education and Development, 26(8), 1086–1110. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2015.1036348
15.
HarmsT.CliffordR.CryerD. (2005). Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale: Revised edition. Teachers College Press.
16.
HatfieldB. E.BurchinalM. R.PiantaR. C.SiderisJ. (2016). Thresholds in the association between quality of teacher–child interactions and preschool children’s school readiness skills. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 36(3rd Quarter), 561–571. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2015.09.005
17.
HeckmanJ. J.MoonS. H.PintoR.SavelyevP. A.YavitzA. (2010). The rate of return to the HighScope Perry Preschool Program. Journal of Public Economics, 94(1), 114–128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2009.11.001
18.
HongS. L.SabolT. J.BurchinalM. R.TarulloL.ZaslowM.Peisner-FeinbergE. S. (2019). ECE quality indicators and child outcomes: Analyses of six large child care studies. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 49(4th Quarter), 202–217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2019.06.009
19.
JacksonC. K.RockoffJ. E.StaigerD. O. (2014). Teacher effects and teacher-related policies. Annual Review of Economics, 6(1), 801–825.
20.
KarolyL. A.Ghosh-DastidarB.ZellmanG. L.PerlmanM.FernyhoughL. (2008). Prepared to learn: The nature and quality of early care and education for preschool–age children in California [Product Page]. https://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/TR539.html
21.
KucseraJ. (2014). New York State’s extreme school segregation: Inequality, inaction and a damaged future. Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED558739
22.
LeV.-N.SchaackD. D.SetodjiC. M. (2015). Identifying baseline and ceiling thresholds within the Qualistar Early Learning Quality Rating and Improvement System. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 30(Pt. B 1st Quarter), 215–226. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2014.03.003
23.
LipseyM. W.FarranD. C.HoferK. G. (2015). A randomized control trial of a statewide voluntary prekindergarten program on children’s skills and behaviors through third grade. Peabody Research Institute. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED566664
24.
LoebS.KalogridesD.HorngE. L. (2010). Principal preferences and the uneven distribution of principals across schools. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 32(2), 205–229. https://doi.org/10.3102/0162373710369833
25.
MashburnA. J.PiantaR. C.HamreB. K.DownerJ. T.BarbarinO. A.BryantD.BurchinalM.EarlyD. M.HowesC. (2008). Measures of classroom quality in prekindergarten and children’s development of academic, language, and social skills. Child Development, 79(3), 732–749. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2008.01154.x
OrfieldG.FrankenbergE. (2014). Increasingly segregated and unequal schools as courts reverse policy. Educational Administration Quarterly, 50(5), 718–734. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X14548942
28.
PhillipsD. A.GormleyW. T.LowensteinA. E. (2009). Inside the pre-kindergarten door: Classroom climate and instructional time allocation in Tulsa’s pre-K programs. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 24(3), 213–228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2009.05.002
29.
PhillipsD. A.LipseyM. W.DodgeK.HaskinsR.BassokD.BurchinalM. R.DuncanG. J.DynarskiM.MagnusonK. A.WeilandC. (2017). Puzzling it out: The current state of scientific knowledge on pre-kindergarten effects. Brookings.
30.
PiantaR.La ParoK.HamreB. (2008). Classroom Assessment Scoring System manual: Pre-K. Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
31.
PotterH. (2015). Lessons from New York City’s universal pre-K expansion: How a focus on diversity could make it even better. Century Foundation.
32.
PotterH. (2016). Diversity in New York City’s universal pre-K classrooms. The Century Foundation.
ReidJ. L.MelvinS. A.KaganS. L.Brooks-GunnJ. (2019). Building a unified system for universal Pre-K: The case of New York City. Children and Youth Services Review, 100, 191–205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.02.030
35.
ReidJ. L.ReadyD. D. (2013). High-quality preschool: The socioeconomic composition of preschool classrooms and children’s learning. Early Education and Development, 24(8), 1082–1111. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2012.757519
36.
SabolT. J.HongS. L. S.PiantaR. C.BurchinalM. R. (2013). Can rating pre-K programs predict children’s learning?Science, 341(6148), 845–846. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1233517
37.
SabolT. J.RossE. C.FrostA. (2020). Are all Head Start classrooms created equal? Variation in classroom quality within Head Start centers and implications for accountability systems. American Educational Research Journal, 57(2), 504–534. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831219858920
38.
SimonN. S.JohnsonS. M. (2015). Teacher turnover in high-poverty schools: What we know and can do. Teachers College Record, 117(3), 1–36.
ValentinoR. (2018). Will public pre-K really close achievement gaps? Gaps in prekindergarten quality between students and across states. American Educational Research Journal, 55(1), 79–116. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831217732000
41.
WeilandC.UlvestadK.SachsJ.YoshikawaH. (2013). Associations between classroom quality and children’s vocabulary and executive function skills in an urban public prekindergarten program. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 28(2), 199–209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2012.12.002
42.
WeilandC.YoshikawaH. (2014). Does higher peer socio-economic status predict children’s language and executive function skills gains in prekindergarten?Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 35(5), 422–432. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2014.07.001
43.
YoshikawaH.WeilandC.Brooks-GunnJ.BurchinalM. R.EspinosaL. M.GormleyW. T.LudwigJ.MagnusonK. A.PhillipsD.ZaslowM. J. (2013). Investing in our future: The evidence base on preschool education. Society for Research in Child Development. http://repositorio.minedu.gob.pe/handle/123456789/4015
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
